Thank you for educating the public and physicians on this lung cancer test. My husband died of lung c. 6 months after being diagnosed stage 4. His only symptom was a dry, irritating cough. He asked for a chest x ray at his last physical but was told since he quit 27 years ago, he was considered a non smoker. He was diagnosed 5 months later. Had he known about this test, he would of gladly paid for it. Imagine what we pay for cars, meals out, sporting events !! Our life is worth it. Anyway, glad you are getting the word out. Thanks

My mother just recently died of stage 4 lung cancer, just six weeks after it was diagnoised. She had not smoked for over 25 years but had a history of cancer.

I treat about 10 patients a week to quit smoking using laser acupuncture in Denver. (8 or 9 are still smoke free after 30 days typically) Nicotine is by far the most addictive substance out there. No other drug allows a person to be productive and won't destroy relationships or careers. I really feel for anyone who is a slave to this drug. (and I don't blame anyone)

My husband and I quit together 2 weeks ago. He used Chantix, prescribed by his doctor, and I did it cold turkey. It's not as difficult as I thought. I tell people that it's very similar to saying goodbye to a best friend. I'm doing everything I did before, I'm just not holding my best friend's hand anymore. Best wishes, Mike, and thank you for your excellent reporting.

12 years, two months 13 days clean and sober (no tobacco). When I took the American Cancer Society FreshStart course, they said that 40% of us would start smoking again, and that tobacco was more addictive than cocaine (I wouldn't know personally, but I believe it). A brother-in-law had a lobotomy, started smoking again and was dead in a year. Smoking kills. I paid for my own spiral CT--worth it. Choose life.

Someday soon I hope you will receive letters of thanks from the people who got an exam or talked a loved one into an exam that saved their lives. You deserve it.

people need to know NOW that they can get a ct scan without a doctors permission. they need to know where and how much. ct scans may not be covered yet by insurance, but for those that can afford to do so, we can't afford to wait on disseminating this information.

my mother had a routine xray prior to her gallbladder surgery. they found the dreaded shadow on the xray. following the gallbladder surgery we went in for the tests and discovered she had stage 1 lung cancer. because it was stage one and because she opted for a clinical trial that was grueling but successful she is still here 5 years later at 75 yrs old. her oncologist tells us she is one of only 8% with small cell lung cancer to have made it this far. we must have routine ct scans to catch lung cancer early. hers is a perfect example of why.

Thanks for this segment on the sprial CT scan. I am astounded that with all the education about the dangers of SECOND HAND SMOKE, that I have never been asked in a physical if I grew up in an environment of smokers. I did, and my mother died of lung cancer. But still never a referral for early detection testing. I have read that it is routine in Japan and have begun asking about it. I expected that the CT scan was much more expensive than has been discussed here. Time for me to self-refer. Thanks for the coverage!

As a radiologist actively involved with cancer prevention, I suspect Dr. Henscke shares a degree of frustration with the naysayers of
early detection by lung CT. The debate about the value of the test harks back with remarkable similiarity to the 70's and 80's debate about breast screening with mammography.

The lack of a double blind study is the most freguent criticism as these type studies are the highest level of scientific thoroughness. However, they involve assigning equal numbers of people to non-tested and tested groups. Sometimes data is so convincingly positive for one group, that assigning people to the other group is a death sentance for some. I believe that is so in regards to this test.

In a sense, there is a large population of non-screened. While not part of the formal study, a large population exists with advanced cancer who smoked but had no chance for early detection because there was no formal early detection program. There is no other way, currently, to regularly detect Stage I, very early cancers then CT screening. As was stated, how many will die waiting for the results of the control study.

There are several studies of people who were incidentally discovered to have Stage I cancers. They turn out to have a greater then 90% survival rate just like those people who were discovered to have early cancers in this study.

Another criticism is that this tests leads to unnecessary medical procedures. However, the main prrocedure required is a second CT scan only for those people found to have small non-calcified nodules. Those showing growing nodules will be the ones to need biopsy and they rightfully need the biopsy under almost any scenario.

It's a shame that insureres won't yet pay for this type screening. Smokers should realize that the differance between the CT and a plain Chest xray is as big as the differance between the cover of a book and what's on the 300 pages inside. There is no comparison.

Many CT facilities are lowering the costs of thes exams.Smokers who are " scared to death" should make this valuable investment in their personal well being. A negative test is greatly reassuring. More then 90 out of a hundred who find an early tumor will have a pretty normal life once the cancer is treated.

This is the dumbest, sickest medical debate I`ve ever seen.....I AM A TWO TIME LUNG CANCER SURVIVOR (8 yrs) & going for a record.....because of routine CT scans which (I) paid for & early treatment. A CT scan only costs $300 max.....so whats your life worth.

My first experience of a small 1/4" lung cancer was treated in the U.S. by the standard crazy SOP of removing an entire half lung & the hack doctor ruptured my spleen which then also required removal & almost killed me......getting the 2nd occurance 5 yrs later, I got pin point targeted radiation treatment over 3 wks in Japan with zero side effects & its 100% gone & cured after 3 years. (My stupid U.S. HMO, hospital & doctors rejected this treatment).

* FYI- Loma Linda University Medical Center & others offer this radiation treatment in the U.S. If the cancer is new, small & has not spread then this is the easy safe way of treatment but EARLY detection is crucial & that means a semi-annual or annual CT scan.

So figure it out for yourselves & do your research & homework or you could die needlessly...its your life & choice.

Thank you so much for your message to all re: smoking and lung cancer, emphysema, etc. I am living proof that it's never too late to quit. I was diagnosed with emphysema in 1985, and quit smoking after averaging 3 packs a day for about 35 years. I was again examined at perhaps the leading respiratory hospital in the world in 1989, and found to be totally free of emphysema...perhaps the first recorded case of the problem having been cured.
P.S. I have to add, however, as a trivia buff...okay, trivia NUT...that "Live fast, die young, and leave a good looking corpse" was not a James Dean line. I believe it was uttered by John Derek in the 1949 movie "Knock on Any Door".

Glad to hear your scan was unremarkable, Mike.

If you read the medical disclaimer you signed before the scan occurred, you learned the scans themselves have a risk. In fact, the type of CT scan you had delivered a dose of radiation that was significantly higher than a typical chest x-ray.

A little research will tell you that exposure to x-rays can damage your genes, causing defects, and stimulate susceptible cells into cancerous ones.

The risk/benefit equation changes for folks in your situation, given your smoking history, and are therefore helpful in diagnosing disease.

However, folks *really* need to understand that x-rays are indeed invasive and shouldn't be performed unless there's an established risk.

I quit smoking last Sunday. I am a 46 year old female. I was trying to re-enlist in the Army Reserve (since they rasied the age limit) during my physical I had an abnormal EKG. Then I had a test where they inject dye into your heart. I had a heart attack and have a blockage that they are able to treat with medication. The doctor said I need to stop smoking, change my diet and exercise more. Sorry to say I am unable to re-enlist but had I not tried I wouldn't have gotten the best physical from the VA ever. I've read all the comments and they just confirm that quiting was the best thing I have ever done for myself. THANKS...

Hey Mike! Good job! I've been smoke free for 12 months (stopped last Thanksgiving). I went cold turkey...there's not a day that goes by that I don't miss the socialization of the act of smoking, but the ability to breathe deeply, not smelling like the inside of an ashtray and knowing that I'm in charge again can't be beat. Congratulations, and thanks for informing your viewers on this valuable tool...quitting is the first step, ongoing health monitoring is the next. :)

Smoking doubles risk of pancreatic cancer and accelerates it

Smoking doubles risk of prostate cancer. Just thought you might want to have a complete exam.

If I remember right, Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer. Imagine growing up in a home where the parents smoke, your bedroom is in the basement, and you like a scotch with your prime rib. That's it, I'm switching to red wine.

Might want to check your second-hand risk loved ones too. Lots of folks quit to protect the people they live with and ride in the car with.

Dont forget to get your colonoscopy. See Cancer.org for paper linking colon cancer to cigs.

I do not wish Mike Taibbi ill health, however, when the doctor announced "you're fine" a resounding "See, I told you" reverberated through my neighborhood on the UES. I hope we get to see the other side of the coin.

I to was a long time smoker. I do not understand people still smoking. What does it take? Maybe Mike's peice will wake up some people.

Dear Mr. Taibbi,
I am very happy to hear that you are fine. It takes a lot of courage to get tested, and even more courage to document this to all of us viewers.

Mike,
When I saw you roll into the xray machine I began to cry because 23 years ago next week I was attending my fathers funeral. He was a 3 pack a day smoker but thought he could beat it if he kept in good shape. He played college football, was a big tough marine, and eventually ended up selling and teaching the Dale Carnegie Courses as a career choice. But mostly he thought he was smarter than his doctor who kept warning him to stop smoking. He died at 52, on the jogging track, a mile from the hospital. The jogger behind him started CPR immediately and the other one called EMS. All the ventricals to his heart were clogged with tar & nicotine. Because he had such a good looking corpse, by law, they were forced to do an autopsy, and that's how they discovered that info back in the 80's. Anyway we really miss him still. I'm really glad they didn't find anything bad on the xrays, but make sure the xray's are thorough enough. Perhaps get one where they inject dye, cause I can't imagine NBC without you.

Best Regards,
CJ in Seattle

I'll be interested to see tomorrow's report -- I have followed this story pretty closely -- whether or not it's of any value to screen for early lung cancer -- and it seems to me that it's largely an argument about medical studies and statistics and what they can and can't prove, so naturally the medical community is being cautious. I don't think that there's any question, though, that for an individual, finding a cancer earlier rather than later is of immense value. I just had the spiral CT scan this week -- if your insurance doesn't cover it, pony up for it! I paid $150 here in the Chicago suburbs, and you don't even need a doctor's referral.As I understand it, the CT scan can find a tumor the size of a rice kernel, whereas a chest x-ray can only detect a much larger lesion. I was very lucky four years ago to have an early breast cancer detected on a routine mammogram -- I needed surgery and radiation, but I am fine now. Any cancer screening test -- colonoscopy, PSA, PAP smears, mammograms -- get them! You are in charge of your health.
Thanks for the report, Brian and Mike, -- I hope and believe that you woke some people up!